Blog interview 2009

I have excavated another interview here as some of the blogs no longer seem to exist. This one is from October 2009 with a person from a blog called Mistaken Press.

Hello gravetos and Charlie, thanks for the questions - my name's Russell and I'm answering the questions alone (I'm the singer) . So here it is:

 - What inspires your music?

 

 Fashion.

 - Favourite bands?

 

 As you'd expect the different members have

 different choices, but one band we always listen to together

 is this really weird band called Insane Clown Posse. It

 started because I was on holiday on my own on this train in

 Germany, and these really aggressive Austrian men were all

 dancing and singing to this music - when I asked one of them

 who they were doing they said it was this lot - so I when I

 got home I bought a couple of their albums and the others

 all like it.

  

 - How did you guys meet?

 

 I met Abbs Garran at work because he sat opposite me and

 would do all these very new age sort of stretches and

 chants. I thought he was doing a performance art thing so I

 asked him to help me with my poetry - because in order to do

 it live I thought it would need a guitarist to play to fill

 the silences and I'd seen him carrying his guitar around

 the car park. Then James Tranmer heard about the band we'd

 created which was called Henderson Tires (which

 was a pun on a tyre shop where he worked) and said he

 wanted to be involved. I already knew the other two from

 London.

  

 - Any songs that marked you while you were growing up?

 

 I used to listen to the very worst sort of pop party

 sort of music - Agadoo and that sort of thing, Rod Stewart.

 But then my dad had pretty interesting tastes so I kind of

 would interesperse it with his bands - people  like Bjork

 although I went off her quite quickly - she was a bit too shrill for my tastes.
I used to really like the Blue Aeroplanes initially just for the name,

 but then I liked the songs too. My dad had a great record

 collection but I only sort of skimmed it, and would listen

 to all these really bad party songs on the side.

 - Describe your sound

 

 I've always said if people asked that we made punk

 music, hence the sort of generic punk name we've got.

 But then we always intended to do other stuff within that,

 so I suppose punk is sort of a base to work from.

 - Best concert you've ever seen?

 

 I hardly ever went to see live bands when I was

 younger. Although I lived near London I didn't have many

 friends so I didn't really know you could just go to see

 a band. It felt sort of unnatural. Then I went away to study

 but I only really listened to bands who'd split up

 anyway. It was the era of all that forced wackiness like a

 lot of the post hardcore bands. So I just stayed at home and

 watched television.

 - How was your first time on stage?

 

 That was with Abbs Garran and Christian (aka The Octogram)
- who are both in the Pheromoans now.
As some kind of art terrorism thing - it must have been about 2005. Then I

started doing my poetry which as I said earlier sort of

merged into the Pheromoans.

  

 - Any rituals before getting on stage?

 

 It depends when you're on - if you're on first

 just a couple of beers I suppose, but if you're on last

 you tend to spend a lot of time hanging around. You

 don't want to get too drunk, but a few drinks is always

 necessary.

 - Describe yourself (individually) in one word

 

 Confused.

 - What does it mean to be a band in the UK these days? In terms of

 environment, music scene, venues...

  

 I don't know what it means really. I don't

 really feel like we belong in the current musical

 scene. I don't have any preference when it comes to

 venues.

 - Who was your biggest inspiration, musically and career wise, when

 you've started making music?

  

 I don't know if you'd really describe being in

 the Pheromoans as a career! The records I go back to

 regularly are more sort of lyrical people like Robert Wyatt

 or Dan Melchior because I'm interested in finding out

 what the words and songs are about. As I write a lot I'm

 inspired by books, poetry and even things like TV

 sitcoms.

- Since the band started, how many / what kind

 of projects have you realized?

 

 We've got a few 7" singles, and in 2010 an LP

 is coming out on Convulsive. Also a tape is coming out of

 some of our more bedroom-type recordings.

 - If you could live one day as / in any other band, who would that band be

 and why?

 

 Probably one of the party pop bands I mentioned

 earlier, like Jasper Carrot's band or that band who did

 'Saturday Night'. My mum and dad always made me turn

 it off at night because I would upset the cats. If I could

 be an adult and be in that band it would be ok - I could

 come and go as I pleased. I wouldn't want to be in one

 of those bands you get in Shoreditch because the

 other members would be too annoying.

  

 - Any strange habits?

 

 Probably listening to the Insane Clown

 Posse.

 - First thing

 you do when you wake up?

 

 I try and find my cat, Bunty.

  

 - Who would you like to be on tour with?

 

 There's a band in London called the Human RACE who

 are really good. A tour with them would be good fun as we

 know each other anyway.

 - What's missing in today's music?

 

 Probably a tour of the kind mentioned

 above.

 - Where do you see yourself when you're 60?

 

 I think my life will be quite similar to how it is

 now.

 - Where do you think music is going to? (evolving in which

 direction...?)

 

 I suppose the contrived 'lo fi' thing will

 fizzle out thankfully and the bandwagon will move to

 somewhere equally as awful.

 - What music means to you?

 A trip to a converted public toilet where we

 practice.